22 Sep Idyllic holiday home with sea views in Basque Country in Spain

I have fallen in love with a beautiful holiday home in the Basque Country in Spain. It is called “Lazkano Enea” and is located in Getaria on the very Camino de Santiago and has the most spectacular sea views. Besides the enjoyment of the house, it is in an ideal location to make a thousand plans with family or friends.

In this article I share all the useful information about the house and other holiday accomodations for rent in the area, things to do in the Basque Country in Spain and I give recommendations for charming restaurants.

Lazkano Enea, a holiday home in the Basque Country in Spain for 10 people

Location of the holiday home, Getaria

The Spanish Basque Country is situated in the North of Spain surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean in the north, next to the french border (the french part of the Basque Country) and on the western side you can find Cantabria. It’s local language is Euskara.

The accommodation is located in the coastal town of Getaria, in the province of Guizpüzcoa. To be exact, it is on the slope of Monte de Santa Bárbara, right where the Camino de Santiago passes.

• 

Getaria is mainly known for being the hometown of the designer Cristobal Balenciaga (he has its own museum in the town) and the navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano. It is a small charming fishing village with its own beach, a port and a small but cozy center with a good range of typical Basque restaurants and bars.

It is 10 minutes from the surf town Zarautz, about 25 minutes from San Sebastián and 1hour from Bilbao.

• 

To get to the house, you have to leave Getaria and drive up the mountain (a car is a must staying at this house) following a road surrounded by typical Basque houses and vineyards. When you arrive at your destination you are welcomed by a beautiful white house with blue shutters, huge hydrangeas, forest, and views you will never forget. A haven of peace!

The holiday home “Lazkano Enea” in the Basque Country in Spain

For our summer holidays, I always search for an accommodation with a special charm, and this idillyc country house is definitely one of them. This holiday home in the Basque Country in Spain is elegant, cozy, eclectic … It is beautiful both outside and inside.

The most impressive are the views. Being in height on the hillside, from the country house you have the idea of ​​dominating the sea and the town of Getaria. There is nothing like sitting in the garden or on the terrace and simply enjoying the surroundings and the sea views with the movement of the fishing boats.

• 

The house consists of 2 floors. Through the main door, your enter the ground floor with a kitchen and a living area that opens onto the terrace. Besides, there are 3 bedrooms, one ensuite prepared for disabled people, and there is another shared bathroom.

• 

On the lower floor there is a very cute and cozy little snug with a stove. Going down a few more steps, you find a large and elegant sitting room that comes right out of a design magazine with huge windows overlooking the sea and with large doors giving access to the garden. A practical detail is the extra little kitchen so one can prepare a tea, a coffee ….. Furthermore, there are 2 large and cosy bedrooms ensuite.

• 

The decoration has been done with great taste, it is eclectic, with a mixture of classic, country and a sea touch. They have put a lot of emphasis on details; the cushions of the beds are embroidered with the anagrams of the house, cosy blankets, a mixture of antique and modern furniture, paintings with Basque images …..

• 

• 

In total, this holiday home in the Basque Country in Spain has about 250m2 and is for up to 10 people. There is plenty of space and it is really confortable to host a large group with its 4 bathrooms, 5 bedrooms and 3 different sitting areas.

Outside there is a large garden perfect to enjoy the views, the green surroundings and to rest (it has several sun loungers). For the sportive types, there is a ping pong table.

There is also more than enough parking space for several cars.

Finally, it has all the amenities necessary for a comfortable stay such as a dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, coffee machines, toaster, television, music system, etc.

• 

The only thing that maybe fails a bit is the WIFI connection, it didn’t work very well but that is all part of the country living. If you plan to work from this home, bring an alternative connection.

The direct surroundings of the country house

Without taking the car, you can do several walks starting directly at the house. The Camino de Santiago is in front of the house (it is not noticeable or bothersome when you are inside the house or in the garden). Every morning I used to go for a walk and when you go in the opposite direction of the Camino de Santiago you can even walk to the surfing village of Zarautz. It is a very beautiful, country path with views of the sea, meadows and forests.

• 

There is also a viewpoint you can reach walking in about 30 minutes, also in the direction of Zarautz. And if you follow the normal road uphill, you can reach a winery you can visit. If you want to go to Getaria on foot, it is also possible, although on the way back it is an important climb (although you can do some of it by elevator).

Where to rent your holiday home in Basque Country in Spain

To rent this or other charming accommodations in Getaria or Zarautz in Basque Country, I recommend Aterian. This family business is owned by Amaia and Aberri who have treated us very well at all times both by email to make the reservation, on arrival and during our stay. Because of the customer-friendliness, the attention to details and the beautiful design of the houses, you feel right away at home in Basque Country.

• 

If you come to the Basque Country in Spain, don’t hestitate to take a look at the interesting offer of Aterian with different types of holiday homes such as studios, apartments, villa,… all decorated with great care and attention …, for groups of different sizes from 2 to 10 people.

• 

In addition, they offer extra services such as catering by a Basque cook who can prepare local food at your holiday home and they can also take care of your first domestic purchase and thus on arrival you have a full fridge.

Things to do in the Basque Country in Spain

If you decide to rent a rural house in the Basque Country in Spain, you won’t get bored, there are plans of all kinds. Let’s give you an overview of all the things we did during our 4-day stay.

Beaches of Zarautz, Getaria and surroundings

Although in the north of Spain the weather can be quite changeable, my experience is that in the end there are always enough sunny days to enjoy the beach. We went to several of them such as ‘La Concha’ in San Sebastián and the one at Getaria, which are both very nice. But my favorites are:

• 

?: Itzurun beach: is located in the town of Zumaia. This beach is surrounded by beautiful cliffs. Apart from its beauty, it has become famous because scenes from Game of Thrones have been shot there. The water has quite a swell so the kids had a great time playing in the waves. It is a beach with lifeguards but obviously you always have to be careful in case there is a red flag (which means you can’t enter the sea because it’s dangerous). There are specific areas for surfers so they do not mix with bathers. Being at Zumaia, you can also take a walk along the cliffs and visit the small chapel Ermita de San Telmo.

• 

? Zarautz Beach: located in the town with the same name. We enjoyed the relaxed surfing vibe both in the village as on the beach. It is a very long and wide pleasant beach, with the town at its back and green hills on each side. By car it is 10 minutes from Getaria and you can also get there on foot since there is a path along the coast that connects the 2 towns. If you want to rent a holiday home in the Basque Country in Spain, the Zarautz area also seems like a very interesting option.

Towns and villages to visit in Basque Country, Spain

This is a summary of the places that we visited during our 4 day stay. Obviously there are thousands of picturesque towns and interesting cities like Bilbao, which I don’t mention.

• 

• Getaria: a very small and typical fishers village. Take a walk around the center, visit the Balenciaga museum and have some pinchitos (see the chapter of restaurants below for an explanation of pinchos)
• Zarautz: a much larger town then Getaria. There is a very relaxed atmosphere and a long boardwalk. The beach is great, ideal for surfers!
• San Sebastian: obviously San Sebastian is a must-see. It is perfect to spend a day, go to La Concha beach, visit the center and of course, have some pinchos.
• Hondarribia: this beautiful fishing village is right on the French border about 40 minutes from Getaria. The best way to get to know it is to walk through the old center, and then go to the fishing district full of colorful houses and a wide range of restaurants. In summer this is a very popular destination so you better make a reservation for dinner.

• 

Wines and wineries in Basque Country, Spain

The typical wine of the Basque Country in Spain is the Txakoli from the territory of Vizcaya. These are mainly white wines. Originally they had a reputation of cheap, acidic wines, but in recent years there has been a major makeover thanks to wineries such as Gorka Izagirre or Itsasmendi. With his white wine ‘42‘ Gorka Izagirre won the award for the best white wine in the world at the World Competition in Brussels. I tried the Itasmendi 2019 and it really surprised me (I usually drink Albariño from Galicia). Would buy it again!

• 

There are many wineries to visit; the ‘bodegas’ Itsasmendi are almost an 1 hour drive from Getaria and Gorka Izagirre 50 minutes. If you want to stay closer to home, only in Getaria you have like 6 wineries to choose from.

Museums in the Basque Country

We only stayed for 4 days in the Basque Country so we didn’t have much time but I recommend 3 of them:

? Cristobal Balenciaga museum in Getaria. It was a 5 minutes drive by car from our holiday home in Getaria. This beautiful museum exhibits both the creations of the famous Spanish fashion designer as objects from his life. Highly recommended! You can book your tickets online.

• 

? Chillida Leku museum. Perfect to combine with a visit to San Sebastián since it is on the outskirts of the city. In this space nature mixes with Chillida’s sculptures. If your children get easily bored during cultural visits, here, being mainly outdoors, they can play in the large park where the works of art are exposed.

• 

? Guggenheim museum. We lacked time but if you spend a week in a rural house in the Basque Country, I recommend visiting the Guggenheim and the city of Bilbao. A must!

Surf in Zarautz area

If you are a true surfer, or want to enroll yourself or your children in surf lessons, renting a holiday home in the Basque Country in Spain is the best thing you can do. There are many beaches with specific areas to practice this sport.

• 

In the Getaria area, Zarautz is probably one of the best options for surfing. In the first place ofcourse because of the sea with perfect waves but also because it is easy to get there and we didn’t have any problems parking the car. In addition, it has a wide range of surf schools to choose from. Itzurun beach is also cool but parking is difficult and the beach is relatively small.

Restaurants and gastronomy in Getaria

Discovering restaurants and trying the local gastronomy is always one of our favorite activities, preferably in a charming restaurant on a special location. Typical of the Getarian gastronomy, and its surroundings, are the restaurants with outdoor grills where they prepare the best fish and seafood.

On the other hand, for more informal meals you have the pintxos bars. Pinchos (or pintxos) originally are from the Basque country and is normally a slice of bread topped with meat, or fish, gamas, etc…,.

In 4 days we just tried a few of the restaurants and bars so I have some recommendations myself but also include those of the owners of the holiday rental agency Aterian.

• 

• 

✔ Elkano: the best known restaurant in Getaria as it has a Michelin star. It was also recommended to us by the owners of the rental house, but we will try it on another occasion because we don’t think our children would have appreciated ‘the investment’. Its gastronomic proposal consists mainly of grilled fish and seafood.

✔ Elkano Txiki: as an alternative there is the Elkano Txiki which is the original bar of the Elkano restaurant and is located in the centre of Getaria. You have to make a reservation because it is a very small restaurant/bar with about only 4 tables inside. If the weather is good enough, they also have some tables outside. Here we tried some delicious pintxos.

✔ Getaka: as someone mentioned on Tripadvisor, it has a good genre at a good price. It is both a gourmet shop with products from Getaria and the Basque Country as an informal pintxos bar. A very good option to have a beer, drink a glass of wine and taste the different kind of pintxos with children or friends.

• 

✔ Kaia-Kaipe: situated in the port of Getaria. Kaia is their restaurant on the first floor of the building and I personally thought the decoration was a bit dated. We dined at Kaipe, their heated summer and winter terrace. A chic terrace where they offer the best of Basque gastronomy, mainly prepared on their grill. Among others, we took the grilled scallop infused with crawfish and a fish. I’m getting hungry just thinking about the dinner we enjoyed …

• 

In addition, hereby a list of other restaurants in Getaria recommended by the agency, Aterian, of our holiday home in Getaria:

✅ Mayflower: good terrace in the Atalaya area, great basic food
✅ Txoko: also in the Atalaya area with a more varied menu than the Mayflower
✅ Politena: interesting offer of pintxos and popular with locals
✅ Astillero: good atmosphere in the port, very popular
✅ Xagu: small bar with a good selection of wines and beers, and homemade burgers
✅ Txiringito Balearri: between the port and Malkorbe beach, a good place to go with children as they can play on the beach. Good food.

In conclusion, I think this article gives a great overview of restaurants and interesting and fun things to do during a wonderful stay with family or friends in a holiday home in the Basque Country in Spain.

If you have questions about this or other articles on my blog, please contact me. I am delighted to assist you. And if you enjoyed the article, do not hesitate to share it on your social networks.

Do you want more information about similar trips? Take a look at the article about our holidays in the north of Spain in Asturias in the Llanes area.

Bon Voyage!!!